November, 04 2009, 08:05am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Mai Shiozaki, 202-628-8669, ext. 116; cell 202-641-1906
NOW Vows to Press Forward After Fairness Defeated in Maine, Hopes for Victory in Washington State
WASHINGTON
The National Organization for Women is extremely saddened by the
rejection of fairness for same-sex couples in Maine, but hopeful for a
victory in Washington state.
Last May, Maine ended marriage discrimination for same-sex couples
by allowing them to marry. Last night, voters rejected that decision by
taking away that right.
"This defeat is a painful setback for loving same-sex couples and
their families in Maine, but the fight is not over," says NOW President
Terry O'Neill. "NOW activists will continue the struggle to eliminate
discrimination and realize the promise of equality and fairness."
In Washington state, Referendum 71 would uphold important legal
protections for state-registered domestic partners. The votes have not
all been counted, but the results so far indicate that Washingtonians
came together to support lesbian and gay families.
Referendum 71 would enable lesbians and gays to cover their partners
with health insurance, take unpaid leave to care for them, or provide
death benefits for their children -- protections that heterosexual
couples take for granted.
Although the legislation in Washington stops short of providing
marriage equality, if upheld by the voters it would be an important
step forward.
The National Organization for Women (NOW) is the largest organization of feminist activists in the United States. NOW has 500,000 contributing members and 550 chapters in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
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United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said Thursday that he is "deeply concerned" by Israel's "recent and extensive violations of Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity," including a ground invasion and airstrikes carried out by the Israel Defense Forces in the war-torn Mideastern nation.
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Israel claims its invasion and bombardment of Syria—which come as the United States and Turkey have also violated Syrian sovereignty with air and ground attacks—are meant to create a security buffer along the countries' shared border in the wake of last week's fall of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and amid the IDF's ongoing assault on Gaza, which has killed or wounded more than 162,000 Palestinians and is the subject of an International Court of Justice genocide case.
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Addressing the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and conversations it has sparked about the country's for-profit system, longtime Medicare for All advocate Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday condemned the murder and stressed that getting to universal coverage will require a movement challenging corporate money in politics.
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Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)—a co-sponsor of Sanders' Medicare for All Act—similarly toldHuffPost in a Tuesday interview, "The visceral response from people across this country who feel cheated, ripped off, and threatened by the vile practices of their insurance companies should be a warning to everyone in the healthcare system."
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